Comcast's Houston division Tuesday began rolling out its Xfinity X1 DVR/cable box technology, which includes multiple recording options to match the offerings of the cable giant's top competitors plus a new program guide design and, for the first time in at least a decade, a redesigned remote control.

X1 will be installed for new Comcast "Triple Play" customers - those who subscribe to at least three of its services for television, broadband, telephone and home security - and existing customers upon request as the company's "go-forward platform," said Sree Kotay, senior vice president and chief software architect for Comcast Cable.

Among new features will be an X1 remote control app that lets customers use voice commands to change channels or find live programs and On Demand listings using an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The app is not yet available for Android devices but is expected within 30 days, a spokesman said.

Comcast has deployed X1 in about 10 markets and hopes to introduce it nationwide by the end of the year, Kotay said. He estimated the current number of X1 customers is in the low six figures but will reach seven figures by year's end. "This is the platform we see as being the foundation for all of our services," Kotay said.

Customers who qualify for an upgrade but who wish to continue using their current cable boxes and DVRs can continue doing so, Kotay said.

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"It's our best face forward, but if people are happy we don't want to disrupt them," he said. "This is a new box. There is some disruption. We are not planning to replace existing boxes, but as we sign up new customers, this (X1) is what we will be providing them."

Old shows left behind?

X1, which is available in regular HD and HD DVR boxes, will require some adjustment for existing customers who get it. The most tedious is the need to watch, record or otherwise preserve all those old shows cluttering up your current DVR, since they can't be transferred to the new X1 box.

Switching to X1 will require a visit from an Xfinity installer and a one-time $33 service fee for existing customers.

X1 users can record up to four shows at once while viewing a fifth program on the same DVR, up from the current option to record two shows at once. Households with multiple DVRs can record up to four shows simultaneously on each DVR, and programs recorded on one DVR can be viewed on any other DVR in the household.

Boxes, however, are not wireless.

X1's onscreen program guide will display at least seven channels, up from the existing four, for a three-hour period. The program search function will locate TV shows on linear networks, on DVRs and via Comcast's On Demand library.

One screen will provide access to Pandora and Facebook applications plus local weather from the Weather Channel, sports scores and local traffic updates. Another will show the last nine programs or channels viewed on the box.

The On Demand portal also has been redesigned to include recommendations and "more like this" suggestions.

Fewer buttons

Also, for customers who still use the old black plastic remotes from Houston's years as a Time Warner Cable, before Comcast took over the market in early 2007, X1 includes the first significant remote changes in almost a decade.

Kotay said designers eliminated about 20 buttons. The X1 remotes also no longer require line-of-sight access under, over, around and through dogs, cats, kids and other obstacles, to change channels.

On Demand increase

He said X1 customers in other cities have reported increased use of the "last nine" and applications pages as they become more comfortable with the boxes and also are viewing more and older On Demand programs from the Xfinity library.

Aside from the installation fee, there will be no additional charge for X1 over the current DVR monthly fee, a Comcast spokesman said.

Comcast does not disclose subscriber totals, but the industry analyst SNL Kagan estimates it has about 680,000 subscribers in the Houston area.